The risk/reward argument is hard to win.
German carmaker Volkswagen put on quite the display at the New York motor show when it unveiled the Atlas Tanoak, a concept car based off the Atlas SUV that previewed a possible entrant in the large-ute segment there. Certainly compelling to look at, many of us around the rest of the globe (this writer included) began wondering why on earth they wouldn’t just come out and say they’d put it into production. What’s the holdup, we wondered.
Well, VW’s execs in America know more than we do (naturally) and they say that the situation isn’t quite so clear cut, especially when targeting the lucrative but sentiment-driven large-ute space, or that's what VW's North American boss told Autocar.
“[The Atlas Tanoak] fits the brand well, because we want to get more American in the US. But it’s something we have to look at carefully. It’s a very patriotic segment, which American manufacturers dominate.” — Hinrich Woebcken, CEO, Volkswagen North America
The Atlas Tanoak concept, being based on the Atlas SUV, makes use of Volkswagen’s extensively-shared MQB platform that underpins everything from the Polo hatch to the TT sports car, rather than a separate ladder-frame chassis. It retains many of the SUV’s traits and adds a healthy dose of futuristic touches, bold lines, and enough ‘wow factor’ for there to be some serious demand for such a vehicle.
Measuring in at 5,438mm the Tanoak is what’s considered in the US as a mid-sized pickup, and would be a competitor for cars like Honda’s Ridgeline, Nissan’s Frontier, and Toyota’s Tacoma, while American competition would come in the form of the GMC Canyon, among others. At least it has an engine that Americans would like: A naturally-aspirated 3.6-litre VR6 engine, with some 206kW and 350Nm, sending power to all-four wheels via an 8-speed automatic.
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